The Labor enquirer., 1887-09-10

nOpOilSC VINO taxes IcntS mas De-
come virtually a sleeping partner
with the capitalist. Land dmonop-
oily is most harmful and Social
Democrats are as much in favor of
Land Naturalization as the most
enthusiastic Land Nati9nalizer;
seeing that the collective owner
ship of land in country and in
town is anecessity of cooperation.
But what we see, and Mr.. George
does not apparently see. is that so
long as competitionis the rule in
production and exchange, 30 long
as your "free individual" without
property is obliged to compete
against other .free individuals, :"
likewise without property, the
mere taxing of 'land values up to
the hilt will not benefit the wage
Garner. Industrial crises, over
production, the unemployed or the
reserve army of labor, and all the
rest of the capitalist system would
remain practically unchanged.
Only the capitalist class would
gain, as class, by confscation of
rent. Surely that must be clear,
even to Mr.. George, if he will re-
fleet a little. Yet he says il isn't
so, and that if land were taxed up
to its full monopoly value, what
ever that may be, and, however it
is to be determined, wages would
at once rise, and the people would
go upon the land from other in
dustries. Why7 Mr.. George
doesn't tell us. He delivers his
oracle and finishes his paragraph.
On the other hand, Social Dem
ocrats go right to the root Of the
whole business-the conflict be-
tween social work, os0anized so
cial work for social purposes, and
individual grab Of the result of
such socially organized work.
There is the antagonism to be
1t can only be solved col
lectively. Then for the first time
since the break up of the old COM
munes the individual WILDE really
free to develop his faculties in ac-
cordance with the standard of
civilization. National, municipal,
communal management by demo-
cratic industrial councils will re-
place the competitive anarchy,and
give full outlet to individual and
local initiatives as well as provide
an ordered central control for ma
tional and international business.
Mr.. George finds the mass of men
wage-slaves or serfs to the mort
gagees and landlords. He would,
be leaving the means and instru-
ments of production (including
the land) untouched, leave them,
too, as much wage-slaves as they
were before. Tinkering with tax
alton won't free men; the land is
"nationalized" in British India on
Mr.. Georges plan and the people
are the poorest on the planet. I
say the problem Of the existing
contrast between progress and
poverty can only be solved by un-
derstanding the tendency towards
the collective and communal con-
troll of industry by the mass of
producers and learning why it is
that to talk of individual manage
ment in the future is hopeless.
Mr.. George, who has never read
Marx nor studied political econo-
my of any kind deeply, thinks he
has found a short cut to universal
prosperity. wish he had. By
backing up mere crusade against
competitive rents we should get q.
large section of the capitalist class
to cooperate with US who would
be money in pocket, as many of
them see, by such step. But it
is far better not to move at all
than thus to strengthen our worst
enemies. Of course if a munich
pality were to conhscate all
ground-rents and devote the reve-
nue. thus obtained not to reduction